[-] jaschop@awful.systems 2 points 3 hours ago

I was going to shitpost that Trump is the least neo-colonial president cuz he cut all foreign aid, but I realized I kinda believe that unironically. I'm in the anti-death-and-suffering camp of course, but a hundred kinda self-serving national aid programs might just not cut it.

(This might be inspired by the Merz government planning to roll the special development aid office into the foreign affairs ministry, partly to tie it more strongly to national interest.)

Maybe we need to bring back the UN bigly.

[-] jaschop@awful.systems 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Ja geschenkt, ist nicht wovon ich hier rede. Sie hat 2024 ein Buch Gute Energie veröffentlicht.

Was wenn Depression, Ängstlichkeit, Unfruchtbarkeit, Alzheimer [...] haben die selbe Wurzel Ursache? Die Wahrheit ist, sie haben.

Darin hat sie erzählt dank "pflanzlicher Medizin 🍄" die Liebe gefunden zu haben, und alles mögliche andere Geschwurbel.

Hat für mich auch was kooptiertes: "Ich glaube dass wir mit guten Vibes die Welt heilen können, bin rechts btw ☺️"

[-] jaschop@awful.systems 20 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Rechte lieben es die Ästhetik von Linken zu kooptieren. Funktioniert leider auch oft, weil eine Ästhetik von den meisten nur oberflächlich verstanden wird.

Etwas verwandt: die neue Sanitätsinspekteur Generalin von Präsident Trumpf ist ein Hippie und wirbt für Magische Pilze Therapie.

[-] jaschop@awful.systems 20 points 4 days ago

Wer mit Software arbeitet, weiss dass 10mal mehr Code nichts ist was als Firma sehr erstrebenswert ist. Und dass ist ungefähr alles worin LLMs gut sind. Unmengen an gerade-so-nutzbarem slop.

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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by jaschop@awful.systems to c/sneerclub@awful.systems

I haven't watched it. I don't know how well she will cover the subject or how deep the rabbit hole she will venture.

All I know is she's delightful and I sure as hell won't read that bilge myself, so I'm looking forward to an entertaining summary.

Edit: I watched it. I had a good time.

[-] jaschop@awful.systems 48 points 2 months ago

....pirating them at all instead of learning Inkscape & Krita.

[-] jaschop@awful.systems 23 points 3 months ago

For those who just can't shake their Wordle habit:

Try https://duotrigordle.com/

32 times the Wordle and none of the NYT enshittification

[-] jaschop@awful.systems 23 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

While browsing the references of the paper, I found such a perfect evisceration of GenAI.

We have confused what we can write down with what we usefully know and compounded the error by supposing that because computers can help us write down more they can obviously help us know more.

The marks are on the knowledge worker - Kidd, Alison

That's from 1994 folks, they were talking about the wonder of relational databases.

[-] jaschop@awful.systems 36 points 4 months ago

Did they seed at least?

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submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by jaschop@awful.systems to c/techtakes@awful.systems

archive of the mentioned NYT article

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[-] jaschop@awful.systems 18 points 8 months ago

I feel like this has to be built on a lack of appreciation for words as a facilitator of human connection. By finding means of expression and being understood we manage to link our brains together on a conceptual level. By building these skills communally we expand the possible bandwidth of connection and even the range and fidelity of our own thoughts.

This has to be motivated by a view of words as Authoritative Things that sit on shelves and bestseller lists and are authored by Smart And Successful People.

[-] jaschop@awful.systems 45 points 8 months ago

Doesn't even mention the one use case I have a moderate amount of respect for, automatically generating image descriptions for blind people.

And even those should always be labeled, since AI is categorically inferior to intentional communication.

They seem focused on the use case "I don't have the ability to communicate with intention, but I want to pretend I do."

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So I recently got an excuse rant about my opinions on federated tech. I think it's pretty much the best we can hope for in terms of liberating tech, with very few niches where fully distributed tech is preferable.

Needing a server places users under the power of the server administrator. Why do we bother? "No gods, no masters, no admins!' I hear you shout. Well, there's a couple reasons...

Maybe using software is just an intrinsically centralized activity. One or a few people design and code it, and an unlimited number of people can digitally replicate and use it. Sure, it may be free software that everyone can inspect and modify... but how many people will really bother? (Nevermind that most people don't even have the skills necessary.)

Okay, so we always kind of rely on a central-ish dev team when we use tech. Why rely on admins on top of that? I believe the vast vast majority of people doesn't have the skills and time to operate a truly independent node of a fully distributed tech. Let's take Jami as an example:

"With the default name server (ns.jami.net), the usernames are registered on an Ethereum blockchain."

So a feature of Jami is (for most users) implemented as a centralized service. Yikes. You could build and run your own name server (with less embarrassing tech choices hopefully), but who will really bother?

But say you bothered, wouldn't it be nice if your friends could use that name server too, and gain a little independence? That sounds a lot like decentralized/federated tech.

Keeping a decent service online is a pain in the butt. Installing SW updates, managing backups, paying for hardware and name services... nevermind just the general bothering to understand all that mess. And moderation, don't forget moderation. I'm saying it's not for everyone (and we should appreciate the fuck out of [local admin]).

I believe that servers and admins are our best bet for actual non-centralized tech. A tech-literate person tending a service for a small- to medium-size community is much more feasible than every person running their independent node (which will probably still depend on something centralized).

And maybe that's just the way we bring good ol' division of labour to the Internet. You have your shoemaker, your baker, your social media admin. A respectable and useful position in society. And they lived happily ever after.

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Apparently a senior SW engineer got fired for questioning readiness of the product, dude must still be chuckling to himself.

Found the story here https://hachyderm.io/@wesley83/112572728237770554

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jaschop

joined 1 year ago